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raised beds

chris_cullenchris_cullen Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Hi, I am new to gardening, have a fairly large back garden, which right now is weedy, so a blank canvas. i am looking to have some raised beds along the fence lines. i have a rectangular shaped garden, so raised beds on both sides. its about 18foot, the space for the beds so i dont want to pay a fortune. what kind of wood is ok? also, do i build it, then place in position against the existing fence? i saw on youtube that i cant have a 3 sided one, as need to protect the fence too from the soil. hope isnt too many questions here :) thank you
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Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Made ours from sleepers. Each bed 2.4 x 1.2 got through 25 at £15 Each from a local supplier. 4 sided  though even against some bricks walls as it's easier to install and keep it's shape. 
    You could have double and single heights to add interest. Only drawback is finding or buying the extra soil you need to fill them.
  • GraemeCGraemeC Posts: 55
    Hi Chris, I used scaffolding boards to build mine, which you might find cheaper.


  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    If you use recycled timber, make sure it hasn't been treated with creosote, especially if you're growing edibles, as it's toxic.  The jury's out on whether any of it reaches the edible parts of the plants, but most people don't chance it. 

     Building my three small raised beds last year was very satisfying, and I'm pleased with how they look. A large area of my back garden is covered with concrete, and I decided building raised beds on top would be less trouble than breaking it up.  I bought new "sleepers" from a builders' merchant who cut them to the length I wanted and supplied pegs for the corners.  I started by laying out the sleepers on the ground and trying out different spacings.  Then I marked where the screws needed to be on the pegs, and drilled them. Then I assembled them in situ with galvanized screws.  It was really easy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I made all of mine from fencing timber - easily available from builder's merchants, and inexpensive. Short posts concreted in to attach the timber to. They're along boundaries of my odd shaped plot so aren't all rectangular. Many are against the fences, but have backs on them. I lined them all with heavy duty polythene and put a coping edge round them.


    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Those look very good FG.  I shall show OH as we're planning lots more in the veggie plot and he needs to improve his technique.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Thanks Obelixx. I didn't have a jigsaw at that point, so it was all done by ordinary hand saw. I could have saved myself a lot of work if I'd just replaced the old, knackered one, especially as I had all the boundary fence round the rest of the plot to do. Think I went through four or five saws in total. I recessed all the screws as well, which gives a neater finish, especially on the top edging.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • chris_cullenchris_cullen Posts: 3
    Hi all,thanks for the quick replies. Fairygirl, I love those, the top of them too. Are they strong enough to sit on? I don't have a jigsaw either,but may buy one. Does anyone think it's best to make a long 18foot one,or maybe 3 6 foot ones? Also, wood wise, any wood from shops,builder merchants is OK,lined with material too? I have a lot of soil from elsewhere in the garden so that's not an issue. Maybe I should stop asking questions and buy wood and jigsaw lol.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I do occasionally sit on the edge of them Chris - but I'm not very good at sitting in the garden at all! 
    I made mine in lengths to suit the space, but I also did the longest one in the length the timber comes in - 3.6M if I remember correctly, but you can get it in 2.4M as well. I was putting in a new path and tying the bed in with the edging of the grass, so it made life easier.
    As long as you put enough posts along the length to support the edging, it's fine. I did a similar thing in a previous garden when we built a deck at the rear of the house after an extension. We used marine ply and faced it with the decking, with a coping of the deck boards. I used to sit on that regularly   :)
    This is the only photo I have of it, but you get the idea. 





    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • chris_cullenchris_cullen Posts: 3
    fairygirl, u seem very handy lol. id like sleepers, but i think id need a few so dont really want to pay a fortune, £15-20 per one maybe. ive seen scaffolding boards too, or there are normal timber, as in 6 foot ones i think. i love google, hate it too as gives me too much choice :) . i want 2 long raised beds on either side, around 18 foot by maybe 3 foot, each side. but with it being against wood fences, i thought would be hard to fit the sides against the fences, if that makes sense. thinking maybe a foot or more high too. god im all over the place with this post. so, most wood/timber is ok, as long as i line it really? 
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    I used decking timber and lined it just to prolong it's life. Nice and cheap as you have so much to do. Also with holes in the lining for drainage you could make each bed a different ph and extend what type of plants you can use. Just an idea.😁
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